Taking Chances
by jefronp
Summary: When you're young, first impressions are everything. Sometimes you miss who the person really is, & who they really are.
1. Chapter 1

_HAPPY NEW YEAR! _

_So, like I know I have to update my other stories, but literally I came up with this tonight as I was driving back from seeing Mission Impossible 4. Yeah, it had NOTHING to do with the movie, but hey, it's an idea right? Gotta go with it as much as I can, lol._

_So yeah, this is the first chapter to what I hope is an epic story. It's going to be Cat/Beck & Jade/Beck like my other one, but hopefully you'll like this as much as the other one, if not more. Same thing though as the last one, with Cat's name being Courtney, and her and Beck having a past in Canada. _

_Jade's the new girl, and Beck's very into her even though he's not over his last girlfriend yet, and… well, you'll just have to wait and see, won't you! Lol. _

_I don't own anything. Not now, not ever._

He knew something was wrong.

He went to sleep _that fateful night_, knowing _very _well that something seriously bad was going to happen.

Though he tried his hardest to not think about it, it was pretty much near impossible. First he woke up to the sound of crying and opened his eyes to see his clock was glowing; 3:46 am blinked back at him as he tried to focus his eyes and turned to lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

There was something ironic though about it.

Two nights ago, _just _two nights ago, it was his girlfriend who was upset and crying, not a toddler.

He got up and walked into the other room, turning to light on just a little to give the room some sort of light, he walked to the crib, and picked up the little girl from the crib. Her big violet eyes blinked back at him and he smiled softly, kissing the top of her head gently, and then he looked at her _familiar _face.

"What's the matter, Ari? What's got you so upset?"

She didn't say anything, just continued to cry.

He began to rock her and sat down on the rocking chair. Though still very drowsy, he managed to find her favorite book and opened it, beginning to read it to her.

He was near the end, when his sister came running into the room, her eyes wide. He looked at her, and she bit her lip, tears in her eyes. Shakily she handed him her phone, and he took it from her silently, looking up at her for a quick moment before focusing his eyes on the text.

_Hey, Taylor I know this might seem strange, me texting you when I normally just text your brother, but uhm… I need you to tell him something. Tell him I love him and that no matter what to never, ever forget me. But make sure you know that he moves on and stuff because I wouldn't want him to be alone for the rest of his life, that would suck. And please, please… let Ariana know that I love her as well, with all my heart… everything. But uhm, it's time… and I can't just wait anymore. I have to do what I have to do, and I'm going to do it. And just so you know, Tay, I always, always thought of you as a friend. Thank you, and… uhm, take care. – Courtney _

"Something's happened." She whispered, he didn't stop staring at the phone, reading it over and over until he memorized it, vaguely aware of the phone ringing.

Too much was going on at only three in the morning, but the good thing was, Ariana was fast asleep, so he put her in her crib and clutched the phone tightly, nearly breaking it.

"What happened?" He finally said, his eyes downcast as the phone finally stopped ringing. "Don't tell me—" He was interrupted when his mother came in to the room, a sort of… apologetic look on her face. She looked in between her daughter and son, before tears came into her eyes.

"Beck, that was Stella…" He literally felt his body freeze at that statement. "It was about—it was about Courtney…" She walked over to him, handing the phone quickly to Taylor, who took it in her hand. She then sobbed, holding him close, he didn't respond back, dropping his sister's phone.

He knew the moment he was going to sleep that night, that something bad was going to happen.

And it _did_.

"She's dead, Beck… she's dead! I'm so, so sorry." His mother looked at him, tears streaming down her face, and he shook his head.

"No, no she's—she's not dead. She can't be." He rushed out of the room and into his own, quickly taking his phone in his hand, he saw that he head many missed calls and texts.

All from _her_.

He numbly sat down on his bed, reading them, the words permanently embedding in his brain. He felt tears come to his eyes, but ignored them as the phone started to ring and he picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Beck…" The voice on the other end was broken and he could hear it. "I'm—I'm so sorry."

"It's okay Tori, it wasn't your fault." He said.

"I tried to—I tried to talk to her."

"I know, and that's all that matters. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay." She said and they hung up.

He opened the last message, rereading it over and over, until he finally, he blacked out.

_You know, I've wanted to do this for a long time, but I might not have to wait any longer, because… I don't have to do it myself. I don't have to feel _lost_ anymore, which is what you wanted, right? It's what I wanted to, if you didn't know. And I'm finally going to feel that way. I love you, Beck Oliver, always and forever, never forget it. _

**A year later… **

"Hey, hey!" Tori Vega was rushing after he older sister, her arms full of books as she struggled to hold them, as her sister just laughed and walked into their school. "Trina! I'm going to kill you!"

"You cant! It's illegal!" Her sister called after her and Tori found herself rolling her eyes.

She somehow—with a lot of difficulty—managed to get to her locker, throwing it open with a lot of force, she was started to hear someone say ow, and immediately dropped everything she was holding, ignoring as it all spread out on the floor. She pulled the locker door off the person and her eyes widened as she saw the unfamiliar girl rub her cheek.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to, I was just… annoyed by my sister. Are—are you okay?"

"Yeah! I'm fine!" The girl snapped at her, "No thanks to you."

"Again, I am so, so sorry." She said, then without really thinking it through she grabbed the girl's wrist and then began to pull her with her in the direction of the nurse's office.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" The girl yelled at her, and she stopped, turning to her, she let go of her wrist.

"Taking you to the nurses office, I'm pretty sure I gave you a concussion or something."

"I'm fine." The girl said, grabbing her wrist and rubbing it. "Don't worry about that. It wasn't that serious of an injury."

Tori studied her for a moment before shaking her head, "No, come on. Please… just come with me to the nurse, okay?"

The girl sighed—annoyed. "If I agree to go will you stop bugging me about it?" Tori nodded, and she threw her hands in the air exasperated. "Fine, just take me there."

Tori did as she said, throwing open the door—and being careful not to hit the girl—they walked in together, the girl rubbing her wrist again, which reminded her of—no. No. She _refused_ to think about her. She couldn't.

But it was kind of hard, since she was literally staring at a carbon copy of the girl that she and everyone else in the school found _very _difficult to forget.

Her eyes traveled upwards, and she came face to face with well, the person who was taking it even harder than everyone else was, even though it had been just a little over a year since _it _happened.

"Beck…" She whispered, and hugged him. He hugged her back, and looked over her shoulder at the new girl who was standing there looking a bit out of place, rubbing her wrist. He blinked and shook his head, pulling away from Tori, he looked at her.

"How's life?" He asked, and she gave him a small smile.

"It's alright, and yours?" He shrugged, so she bent down to the little girl in front of her's level. "Hey there, Ari, how are you?"

"Hungry." She said, rubbing her stomach. "Daddy forgot to feed me."

He rolled his eyes, "I didn't forget, we were just running out of time."

"Right…" Tori said, standing up again, "Well, I just injured someone with my locker of death, so if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take her to the nurse. You be good, you got that, Ariana?" The little girl nodded, and Tori smiled. "Good." And with that she turned back to the new girl. "Come with me."

"Oh god, just what I've always wanted to do," The girl rolled her eyes, "Follow a stranger."

"Just do it!" Tori snapped, and the girl looked at Beck. They said nothing, just held the eye contact for a few minutes, before she finally disappeared after Tori.

After the nurse had checked her and made sure she was okay—where Tori learned the new girl's name was Jade—they both went to their first two classes of the day which happened to be together.

They were sitting at the lunch table, talking about her first day, when Tori's other friends, Robbie and Andre came over to them, each taking a seat on either side of Tori and looked at Jade.

"Hey, you're the girl in my English class right?" Robbie asked, and Tori rolled her eyes.

"We're in the same class broccoli head!"

"You uh, you need to work on your insults a little bit," Jade commented, "Because uh, that was just… depressing."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Andre laughed, "She's not the best with those, anyway."

Jade nodded, "I can tell." She said and Tori just sighed, annoyed.

"Okay! Let's not pick on Tori today, deal?" They just stared at her, and she continued, "So, uh, Jade! You just moved here! What's uhm, where you from?"

"New Jersey." She said, shrugging. "My dad just decided it'd be fan—freaking—tastic to move me across the country because he got a better job here. He's a pretty selfish guy, all about himself so he really didn't think about how it'd affect me."

"I'm sorry." Andre said.

"Yeah," Robbie agreed, "That must suck."

Jade nodded, looking down for a moment, before looking up again and seeing the boy Tori was talking to when she took her to the nurses office. He was talking to another person, but looked back at her, maintaining the eye contact again for the second time that day. She looked away quickly, and looked down again.

Tori seemed to notice this, "That's Beck." She said, "He's a good friend."

Jade nodded again, "Is he okay?" She asked her, "I mean, he seems… sad."

At that, the three friends shifted uncomfortably, just as Beck said goodbye to the person he was speaking to and walked towards them.

"Hey, guys." He said, as they looked at each other, Jade however, looked away.

"Hi." She said, quietly and then stood up, feeling uncomfortable… and strange. "I uhm, I have to go." She said, attempting to walk past him, but he stopped her, handing her the orange he'd been throwing up and down in his hand.

"You look kind of pale." He shrugged, as she looked up at him. "Eat this." She took it from his hand, slowly and nodded her head.

"Thanks." She said, and then walked away from the group, going into the building, she walked towards her locker, taking out her phone, she quickly dialed a number. Holding the phone against her ear, she waited until the person on the other end picked up.

"Hello?"

"Thanks for finally picking up, Justin." She said, and leaned against the locker, looking to her right, she noticed Beck coming towards her. "Uhm," She turned her body quickly and looked down, "What's up?"

"Nothing… aren't you in school?"

"Yeah, it's lunchtime though." She said, and he sighed.

"Did ya make any friends?"

"A few." She said, and took a deep breath as he walked past her again, and they locked eyes for a _third _time that day. What was up with that?

She then looked down, noticing she still held his orange in her hand. "Why don't you go hang out with them then?"

She stared at the orange, "Because I—" She stopped, "I don't know."

She watched as Beck disappeared behind a door marked, _guidance counselor_, he came out a few moments later, typing on his phone, and then walked back towards her, again.

And she actually stared to _panic_.

"J—Justin?" She stammered, "Can I—uh, call you back?"

"Yeah, sure that's fine." He said, "Stay cool though, okay?"

"I'll try." She said, nodding her head, and then hung up her phone, noticing Beck was staring at her. "What?" She snapped, going back to her calmer, more chilled out self.

"You're sort of standing in front of my locker." He said, pointing at it. "I sort of need to put my bag in there…"

"Oh, uhm…sorry." She said and moved to the side, standing there awkwardly as he did what he had to do. She closed her eyes, and stomped her foot. "I—uhm, okay." She took a deep breath. "I know I'm new here and all, but uhm, are you okay?" She asked him and he looked up at her. "I mean… you just seem so, sad."

He just looked at her, silently and she quickly backtracked. "Okay, look. You don't have to tell me, it's not of my business, but I just… I don't know… care about you?" She half asked, and then backtracked again. "Not that I usually do, because I'm totally not like that, I just don't like it when people are in pain… and I mean the good kind! Not that bad kind!"

He just laughed, shaking his head, he stood up and shut his locker. "You don't need to ramble, I get it." He said, and then looked at her seriously, "You should really eat that orange though, you look like you want to puke."

"I don't but," She threw it in the air, and then caught it. "Why do you want me to eat it so badly?"

"Because… maybe I sort of… care about you too?" He mocked her, and she just rolled her eyes, unable to keep the smile from her face. "Just eat it, I promise you, you'll _love _it."

"Oh, well that sounds like a challenge." She smirked, holding up the orange. "Hm, to eat this orange or to not eat this orange, that is the question."

"You asked a dumb question." Beck said, "Just eat it! I love oranges, and for me to give you one just like that… well that's pretty major."

"Why? Protective of it?"

"Well, of course." He shrugged, "It's my favorite fruit, you know."

And even though she promised herself she wouldn't get close to anyone at her new school, and open up so easily… she realized that doing that with Beck would be nearly impossible. She just smiled at him and nodded, "Fine," She finally said, "I'll eat the damn orange if it'll make you happy."

"No, no." He said, clasping his hands together. "Trust me, it'll make _you_ happy."

"Oh really?"

He nodded, "Yep." He said as he began to walk away from her, "Oh! And just remember, I sort of care about you too!" And with that he was gone.

Jade leaned against the locker and looked up, she looked back down and stared at the orange for a moment, before turning around, and opening her locker. She opened it, and ever so gently put the orange down on top of the notebook that was there. And then closed the locker, and after making sure it was locked, she turned around and walked away from it, just as the bell rang.

She was sure to love oranges now, after all, it made her gain a new, mysterious friend… who she was starting to like, _a lot_.

Damn orange.

_Aren't they just so cute? Yeah! More to come next chapter! Whoo! And Stay With Me will be updated soon… I just have to come up with a fantastic chapter for you guys! And trust me, I'm working hard on deciding what I want to happen in it. It has to be GOOD! _

_Oh yeah, and this story is going to have a sort of "theme". It's mentioned in the beginning, I'm not gonna say it, but its based around it… and if you can figure it out, then you're AWESOME! Kay? Kay, good. Haha._

_Anyway, let me know if I should continue this, yeah? _


	2. Chapter 2

"Come on Beck! You have to watch this!" The red haired girl in front of him shouted, as he moved the camera towards her, zooming in on her hand, as she pointed to the lake in front of her. "It's so perfect!" She then spread her arms wide, and began to run in his direction, moving past him so quickly he got dizzy from spinning around so fast, trying to capture what she was doing. And as she ran from him, she turned around, giggling, the wind blowing her hair in her face as she finally stopped, her arms spread wide she spun around, her face to the sky, a smile on her face.

He was happy she was happy—for once. She had a really tough life, even if she was just thirteen years old. Her parents had passed away when she was seven years old, and she lived with her older sister, who was hardly ever around since she was a music producer and was constantly traveling around the world leaving her by herself. Something she constantly assured him she was used to, but he could see it; she really wasn't.

So that's why he spent as much time as he could with her. Since being with her always made him really happy.

She never pleased anyone but herself, and he was _so _incredibly grateful for that.

She then ran back towards him again, her arms wide, and tackled him, laughing when he fell to the ground, yelling at her. The camera wobbled for a moment, before finally staying still, pointed at the two teenagers, she giggled into his chest for a moment, before looking up and leaned forward, kissing him gently as he put his hand in her hair, pulling her closer, he kissed her back.

Beck turned off the video, slamming his laptop's cover down, he put his head in his hands, his fingers going through his hair, pulling them hard as he fought to keep the tears from coming down.

How could he have let her do it? Let her kill herself? He loved her, and she… loved him, right?

Unable to stop the tears from flowing down his cheeks, he just got up and lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. It had only been a year… but _damn_ did it still _hurt_.

_Da-dum!_

He heard his phone go off, and pulled it out to see he had a text from Jade. They had been talking a lot in the past week, but he could see it, clear as day that she had a wall, a wall she put up to protect herself.

Just like he had one.

He quickly texted her back, and then the noise went off again.

_Can I come over? My dad is pissing me off and I'd really rather not be around him right now._

He thought about it for a moment, before deciding it was best that she came over. Maybe she could distract him from his thoughts… right? She was pretty… and fun to be around and…

Fuck it.

_Yeah, come over. _

_Okay, I'll be over in five minutes, I live right down the street… _

_How the hell did you know where I live?_

_I saw you walking your dog the other day… and I was going to say hi to you, but I was in the car with my dad, he was talking about something I really didn't give a shit about, so yeah. I'm not a stalker, promise. _

_If you say so. Oh and by the way, Miss Stalker, you still owe me an orange. Actually, two now. _

_Yeah, yeah, just put it on my tab. I'll be over in five, leaving now._

He didn't bother to respond and instead sat up, he pressed his hands to his eyes, before looking around the room, rubbing his arm. Then he realized, his eyes widening that he had to clean up, and fast! Before she got there, that is.

But wait, who was he trying to impress, and why?

If he had just been crying over the death of his last girlfriend, why the hell would he care if his room was messy or not? Right? Exactly.

Taking another look around his room again, he decided it didn't really matter. He _had_ to clean his room… he didn't even want to be in it, and _that _was saying something.

He quickly put things away in random places, the closet, under his bed, in drawers… except for the build-a-bear he'd gotten from Courtney about a year into their relationship, _that _he kept on his bed.

A moment later, someone knocked on the door to his bedroom, and he jumped a little, before calming down. "Yeah, it's open!"

"Hey, Beck." His sister stuck her head in, "There's a cute girl here for ya."

"Yeah, yeah." He said, waving his hand. "It's Jade, let her in." Taylor nodded, and walked away, a moment later, Jade came through the door to his bedroom, a smirk on her lips.

"You know, you didn't really have to clean up for me." She said nonchalantly, taking a seat on his bed. "I really don't care."

"How do you know I cleaned my room for you? Or that I did at all?"

"Cause you're sweaty." She shrugged, and looked around. "Good job though."

"Yeah, don't get too excited, I was a bit of a neat freak before… I just…" He looked around, "Let it go for a while."

She shrugged, and looked at him, leaning back on her hands. "So, what do you want to do? I can skateboard, if you're interested to know. Real well, actually. Almost a pro."

He looked back at her, amused, "You? _You _can skateboard?"

"Oh, totally." She said, "I learned from the very best, my friend back home, he taught me all I've ever needed to know."

"Oh yeah?" She nodded, "And was this friend… more of a friend to you ever at one point?"

"Why?" She shot back, "Jealous?"

"No, just curious. Shouldn't we get to know each other a bit more, before we really commit to this friendship?"

She didn't really know what that meant, but just sighed, deciding it was best to just answer his question, "if you must know, yes. He was, at—at one point."

"Okay."

"What about you, Beck?" Jade asked him, "I'm sure you've got some secrets of your own, spill."

"What? I have no secrets."

"Sure you do…" She said quietly, "Everyone does."

He was silent for a moment, before putting one finger up, "Just wait a sec, okay?" She nodded, looking a bit confused—and suspicious, and waited patiently (or as patient as she gets anyway), until a moment later, he came back with—a little girl? "Okay, so here's my secret, but not really a secret."

"What?"

"This is Ariana." He said, "She's my daughter."

"Daughter?" Jade almost choked on her words, "You have a daughter?"

"Yeah." He smiled, messing with the little girl's blonde hair. "She's three years old."

"Three—" She did the math in her head, "You had her when you were thirteen?"

"No, Jade, I can't have a baby. That's physically impossible." He said, emotionless.

"You know what I meant!" She said, trying her damn _hardest_ not to laugh, despite the news she was just given. "Wow…" she calmed down, seeming to accept this. "You have a daughter…" And then her blue eyes focused on Ariana's violet ones. "Come here, sweetie," She said, "I promise I won't bite you."

"I know! My daddy talks about you a whole lot!" She said, and Jade looked up at Beck, amused.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah!" She said, "But uhm, I'm not supposed to tell you…" She said, dropping her voice to almost a whisper.

Jade laughed, "You are so sweet."

"Thank you! My daddy says I get it from my mama." Ariana said, looking down and playing with her fingers, she seemed a little withdrawn after saying that, and Jade noticed that Beck had tensed up.

"Okay, well, Ari you're going to go with Mimi for a little bit, okay? I'm going to take Jade out for a little while—" He looked at her, "to talk."

"Okay." Ariana said quietly, and ran out of the room, yelling "Mimi!" as she did. Jade looked at Beck.

"She's not your only secret." She finally said, "You've got another one."

"Yeah." He said, "And maybe someday I'll tell you, but not now."

She opened her mouth to speak, but instead shook her head. "Fine."

A few hours later, they were walking back to Jade's house (as it was late, and she figured she should get home), when Jade stumbled, and grabbed onto Beck's arm, laughing as she fell forward.

"You okay there? Too much sugar?"

She laughed more, shaking her head, "Nah, just tripped. Trust me, I'm prone to accidents, I'm a klutz."

He shook his head, "No more than Cat I bet…" And just like that his smile disappeared.

"Who's Cat?" Jade asked, innocently, and he just shook his head, pushing her away lightly, he stepped away from her.

"No one… uhm, which house did you say was yours?"

"It's right… there." Jade said, pointing across the street. "You don't have to walk me if you don't want to, I mean it's just—" She got cut off when he stepped forward, and put his hand on her cheek, surprising her. "What are you—"

"We—we have something, here in between us—r—right?" He asked her, and she tilted her head, looking at him confused. "I mean I'm not just imagining it am I?"

"Beck, what has gotten into you?" She asked him, now a bit worried, as he was switching moods _very_ quickly.

"N-nothing, I just want to know, do you feel something here too?"

She nodded, "Of course I do."

He softly rubbed her cheek, and then slowly—but also shakily—put a strand of her hair behind her ear, and stared into her eyes. Neither of them said anything as she closed her eyes, waiting for the kiss she was sure was to come.

Only she didn't get it.

He immediately took his hand off of her, almost as if he'd burned it.

"What was that?" She demanded. "I thought you were going to—"

"It's hard for me." He said, suddenly. "I can't just fall for someone so fast!"

"Beck, stop." She ordered. "Who said anything about falling for anyone, we've only known each other a week, and just _today_ I found out you have a daughter! If you think we're going too fast, we aren't."

"But you care for me?" She nodded, "And I care for you… and it's only been a week."

"So? What's wrong with that?"

"I—I don't know." He admitted, "I'm just…"

"Scared you might mess it up?" He nodded. "Well…" She stepped forward, taking his hands in hers, "Don't be." She looked up at him and put her hand on his cheek, rubbing it, she stared at him.

He seemed to be wrestling with something in his mind, before he finally shook his head, ridding himself of any thoughts he had.

"Beck?" She whispered, and he looked at her.

"I'm gonna do something…" He began, and she nodded. "And if you don't like it, tell me." She nodded again.

He shook his head quickly again, and then put his hand in her hair, tangling is fingers, he leaned forward and ever so gently kissed her. And then just as she was going to kiss him back, he broke it, pulling away slowly.

"W-wow." She stammered, "Just—wow."

"Yeah." He agreed. "Wow."

She rolled her eyes, and leaned in, kissing him gently, she broke it, just as quickly and looked at him, "I should get home, it's past my curfew."

"Yeah, same—same for me." He managed to say, and she began to walk across the street, her hand still holding his, he looked down, and she stopped, looking down as well, and then back up at him. He then smiled at her and let go, letting her walk across the street until he was sure she was safe inside the house.

Then he walked the five minute walk to his own home, and opened the door, stepping inside, he leaned against the door, and quickly ran up to his room. He took out a red journal, and opened it.

There in front of his face, it said his answer; everything he was afraid of was right there in front of him.

**June 26****th****, 2005**

**Hi mama & daddy,**

**So, great news… I kissed Beck today. Yup, for the first time. You should've seen it! It was like… fireworks exploded in my brain, but you know that would kind of be painful… and would hurt a lot. I wish you could've seen it, you would've been so proud of me! I was like so scared, but Stella talked me out of my fear. She's the best role model for me ever and I love her! But anyway, back to me and Beck. **

**You remember him, right? He's my best friend… the guy I told you about the first day I came back from daycare when I was like three years old. In fact, you met him! But you might not remember him because… well **_**you**_** know. **_**It**_** happened. **

**Anyway, he took me to the lake today, and took his camera (mama he LOVES it, it reminds me of daddy and when he'd force Stella and I to do things for him, hehe. Like singing, dancing, cheering and stuff). Anyway, he was telling me how he wanted to be a film maker when he's older (also an actor, but I'll tell you about that another time). And I don't know what happened, but I just went for it… or should I say **_**he **_**did? **

**We were just talking you know, about him wanting to be a filmmaker and about how I could be in one of his movies if I became successful enough, and it got all quiet. The sun was just setting (soooo cheesy! I know!) and… well, we looked at each other and he just did it, leaned forward and kissed me. Gently, so nice and sweet, and it made me happy… even squeal! And I hate to do that, because I sound like a dying pig when I do it, or actually the cute little pink ones… **

**Anyway, getting off topic! So yeah. I had my first kiss with Beck, and get this… I know it's too early, but I think I might love him… and that he might love me. Well, maybe not. It's too early to tell. **

**I love you, mama & daddy and I miss you! I hope you guys are happy and okay… mwahh! **

**Xoxo, **

**Courtney**

He put the book down and put his head in his arms, he soon felt his body shake, and the tears start to fall. He hadn't know it, but ever since her parents had died, Cat had kept a journal of "letters" she wrote to them about her life. After… well _it _happened, her sister had found them all and gave them to him to read to Ariana, almost as though it was a book.

Only he couldn't bring himself to do it yet, since he wasn't yet done with them.

But what struck him as a bit surprising was that the day he and Cat had kissed, she had admitted to her parents (in an indirect way) that she loved him.

And the day was the day he was afraid to tell her—he was in _love _with her.

And now, he'd never get to the chance to tell her that.

The door to his bedroom opened, and he saw Ariana walk in, her small feet walked towards him, as she walked up to him and he quickly wiped away his tears.

"What are you doing out of bed, Ari?"

"I had a nightmare." She said, clutching the teddy bear she held against her small body against her more. "Can I sleep here with you?"

He smiled at her, and picked her up, putting her on the bed. "Of course you can sweetie." He said, "But you really have to go to sleep now, okay?"

She grinned, "Okay, daddy!"

He lay her on the bed, and then got up to change himself. He put on his pajamas and then got into bed, laying beside his daughter.

"Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"I love you." She said, "And I love mama."

Despite how he was feeling, Beck couldn't help but smile at that. "I know she loves you too, Ariana. I promise you, she loves you too."

"I know… she loves you too." And with that, the little girl was quiet, falling into a deep sleep. But Beck still stayed awake, staring up at the ceiling, he let out a sigh, and turned on his side, facing her.

He hoped she was right, even though he'd never know… he hoped she was right.

And that she'd be okay with him falling in love with another girl.

_Jade._

_Yeah, it's a little rushed, but I'm kind of tired, so I apologize. Uhm, so you know… Cat's "letters to her mother and father" are going to be a major part of this story. Lot's of things Beck, Tori, Andre, Robbie, her sister, his family and others never knew will reveal a lot of secrets as well as unravel a lot of Beck and Cat's past for Jade. _

_But trust me! It's a Beck and Jade story, PROMISE. _

_Just like the other one, there will be flashbacks, but not in all chapters like it is with that one. Alright, cool? _

_Also, I'm so excited! I'm dying my hair red tomorrow! Or later today… woot woot! Hehe, so stoked… I can't wait to see how it will turn out. _

_So, anyway... hope you enjoyed and thanks for your reviews! Xoxo. _


	3. Chapter 3

"So, what do you wanna be when you grow up?" The girl in front of the camera smiled, and looked out onto the lake, her hair flying in the wind behind her.

"I don't know." She answered, "I think maybe a singer, that would be my dream. Or a famous photographer… I love it."

"A singer?" She nodded and then looked at him.

"What about you, what do you want to be?" She asked going over to him, and taking the camera from him, turning it so it was now facing him. He thought for a moment, before snapping his fingers, a wide smile on his face.

"An actor. Or a famous filmmaker… maybe a director too."

She let out a giggle and faced the camera towards her again, "There you have it! Our dreams… our ambitions…I can only hope our future child will feel the same way when he or she gets older."

He came behind her, and kissed her cheek, wrapping his arms around her waist, he held her, as he rubbed her not yet visible bump. "Yeah…" He said, "They'll want to be just like us…" He looked at her, "Their mommy and daddy." And then while still holding the camera, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his, giggling after just a few moments.

"Although, I don't think they'll take too kindly to us making out on camera." She said, and he shook his head.

"Nah, they'll be fine." He then started to kiss her again, taking the camera from her hands, she turned her body so that she was fully facing him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, she kissed him deeper.

Then just like that, the beautiful scene was cut.

/

Beck tiredly rubbed his eyes as he sat up in his bed, the memories were becoming to real and vivid… almost like he'd just lived them. Looking down, he noticed his daughter was fast asleep, tangled up in the bed sheets, holding her teddy bear close to her chest.

She was all he had left of _her_. Ariana was everything to him. But then, so had been her mother. But just as quickly as he'd realized it, it was too late. She was gone. But Ariana wasn't, and she never would be.

He heard his phone go off and got out of bed quietly to go answer it. Ariana rarely ever slept in past 7:00 am, so he was going to take as much advantage of it as he possibly could.

He picked up his phone and through his drowsy eyesight, he saw that it was Jade.

_Hi._

Well, that was certainty vague.

_Good morning_.

A second later, he got a text back.

_I need to get out of here, can I come over or something? _

He looked at the clock: 9:13am.

_Sure._

And not even ten minutes later, she was at his bedroom door. He had quickly gone over to it, and put his finger to his lips, since Ariana was still asleep, but as quietly and as quickly as he could, he shut the door.

"Did my mom let you in?" He asked her and she nodded, leaning her head against his chest, she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him. He didn't know what to do at first, but instead of over thinking it, he just began to rub her back. "What happened?"

"My dad and I got into a fight." She said, looking up at him. "That's all. I can't stand him or his wife, or like anything…" She sighed. "Anyway, how are you? Sorry to lay all this on you so early in the morning."

"No, it's okay." He weakly smiled at her, he was used to it. "I couldn't sleep anyways, besides, Ariana might get up in a few minutes… do you want to go to get something to eat with us?"

Jade smiled, "I would love that."

About an hour later, they had gotten Ariana up and dressed and were sitting in the diner just about walking distance from Beck's house. He had called Andre, Robbie, and Tori on the way there, and had met up with them just minutes before.

Ariana excitedly turned to Jade, pulling her hand. "I need to go to the bathroom!"

Jade looked up at Beck and then back down at the little girl. "Why don't you tell your daddy that?"

"Because he's a boy!" Ariana responded matter-of-factly. "I'm not 'posed to go in there with a boy!"

"Alright…" She looked at him helplessly. "Uh, would it be alright—"

Beck smiled warmly at her. "Feel free."

"I'll go with you," Tori offered, and the three of them left.

Robbie turned to Beck, "So uh, when exactly are you gonna tell her about… uhm, you know who."

Saying her name was a sore subject for Beck and for Ariana. If anyone ever brought it up, Beck would get defensive and change the subject and Ariana would turn sullen and sad.

He shrugged, "I don't know… we'll see where this relationship is going first before I decide on telling her anything."

"Relationship?" Andre raised his eyebrows.

"Come on, dude. It's been a year, if he wants to a start a relationship… he should." Robbie said, leaning back and looking at Beck. "He can't just worry about the past forever."

"Thank you, Robbie."

"Yeah, no prob."

Meanwhile in the bathroom, Ariana had strangely insisted on Jade going with her, while Tori waited outside. Jade confused, did as she was asked, but was not ready for what she said.

They were washing their hands, and drying off when Ariana turned to her, her doe violet colored eyes looking up at her. "I miss my mommy."

Well, that sure came out of nowhere.

"Why don't… you talk to your dad about it?" Jade asked, clearly confused, as she bent down to her level.

"Because he gets sad." Ariana shrugged turning her head away from her for a moment, before looking back. "I miss her a lot."

By then, Tori had come into the restroom to check on them and had heard the last part of what she'd said.

"You miss who?"

Ariana looked up, "My mommy."

Jade then watched as Tori bit her lip, and looked left to right, before looking at Ariana, bending down to her level as well. "I know, you…you do." She said quietly, "We all do."

"Why did she leave?" Ariana tilted her head, while Tori just shook her head.

"I can't answer that. That's a question for your daddy." She finally answered and Ariana sighed. "But what I can tell you is that she loved you, very, very much."

"Oh, okay." She looked down at her feet for a moment and then turned to Jade. "You make my daddy happy."

"I do?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but don't make him angry… he doesn't like that." Jade smiled at her, she was so adorable.

"I promise, I won't." She said and then leaned forward hugging the little girl close to her. "Come on, let's go out there and join your daddy and eat, sound good?"

"Yay!" She squealed, instantly reminding Tori of her mother.

They walked out, Jade and Ariana taking a seat in the booth with Beck and Tori on the other side.

"How was it?" Beck asked, "You didn't cause too much trouble did you?"

"No." Well, she sure was suspiciously quiet. "I didn't." She took the crayons and paper from Robbie and started to color.

Jade just looked at Beck and smiled at him as he smiled back at her, kissing the top of Ariana's head, the waitress then came, taking their orders.

Jade sighed. Beck sure was a mysterious guy… and one thing was for sure, she was going to get to know him better. He seemed special, different, and very caring towards his daughter. He was someone she didn't want to lose, even if they'd only known each other for a short period of time.

Later that day, after Ariana somehow convincing them to take her to the beach, she was sitting in the sand with him, watching as Ariana built a sandcastle—or at least attempted to build one—with Robbie, Andre, and Tori. She was giggling since they kept randomly poking her in the stomach.

Jade turned to Beck, "Can I ask you something?" He nodded.

"Yeah, anything." She looked down noticing he had a video camera. "What's up with that?"

"Oh, this?" She rolled her eyes, but nodded anyway. "It's my camera… I'm sort of into film making."

"You are?" Wow, that was something she didn't know. "I'm way into photography." She said, "I'm always taking pictures."

"I don't see your camera." He teased and she rolled her eyes.

She pulled her bag onto her lap, and pulled out her camera. She flipped it over in her hands, and then lifted it to her face, quickly turning it on, he didn't even have a second to think before she snapped a photo of him.

"Perfect." She said, looking at it. "I love it. I'll maybe send it to you, if you're a good boy." She teased and he just rolled his eyes.

"I'm always so innocent!"

"Yeah, sure you are." Jade responded back, playfully sticking her tongue out. He picked up his video camera and held it up, pressing record, he began to film her.

"So, tell me, Jade. What's your goal for this year?"

"Goal?" He nodded and she shrugged. "I don't know… maybe work on my communication skills with my dad a bit. We don't get along _at all_."

"I'm sorry to hear that." He said, lowering his camera. "That sucks."

"Yeah."

"Well, what about your mother?"

"She passed away when I was 11. She had cancer." She looked at her hands, playing with her fingers for a moment, she bit her lip. "She and I were really close…it was really hard for me."

"I bet it was… Jade, I'm so sorry to hear that." He spoke sympathetically and genuinely… almost like he'd gone through the same thing.

"Yeah." She sniffled, "What about you? Have you ever lost anyone you loved? Or that you were close to?"

"Yes. I have."

She motioned for him to continue, but he didn't. He was staring out at the ocean, towards his daughter…which was when it all clicked in her head.

"Was it Ariana's mother?"

That seemed to hit _something_, as he turned his head toward her so fast, he was surprised he didn't get whiplash from it.

"What?"

Still, she was brave. She could ask him again.

"Was it Ariana's mother?" She repeated, and the expression on his face changed again, to one… more of anger than anything else.

"New subject."

"Come on, Beck!" She stood up, somewhat angrily, narrowing her eyes she glared at him. "You cant just ignore it! You have to share your feelings, let them out… I know we haven't known eachother long, but come on! I told you about my mother…" Her voice became quieter as she spoke. "Why can't you tell me about Ariana's mother?"

"Because…" He stopped speaking, staring at his feet. She looked down at him a look of disbelief on her face.

"Because…why?"

"Because it hurts!" He finally yelled at her, gaining the attention of a few people on the beach, including Andre, Robbie, and Tori. "it hurts to talk about her!" He stood up, and angrily moving his hands around as he spoke. "She was special to me… and just like that she was taken away! And I—I did _nothing_ to stop her or help her."

Jade stared at him for a moment, shaking her head. "No… no. Beck. Whatever happened… it wasn't your fault. You had nothing to do with it."

"You don't know what happened." He laughed humorously, which scared her.

"Then tell me." She said, "I'm not here to judge you, her, your daughter or anyone else."

"No… Jade. Just… just drop it." He spoke coldly towards her, and she backed away, hurt, before she came up with another idea.

She stepped closer and without giving him a chance to think about what she was doing, she turned him toward her and put her hand on the back of his neck, pulling him toward her, she kissed him. And then just like that it was over.

"Did you feel anything?" She asked him and he just looked at her. "Did you? Or are you that damn afraid of your emotions, you refuse to acknowledge them?"

"I wasn't the one scared of my emotions." He finally said. "Cat was."

"Okay…" Jade took a deep breath, "Who's Cat?"

Oh, right. She didn't know.

"She's Ariana's mother." He finally told her, after a few seconds of silence. "She meant a lot to me… and she passed away."

"When?"

"A year ago. And why am I even telling you all of this?"

"Because, Beck—" Jade said, just before they heard Ariana call him. She bent down, picking up her bag, she put her stuff in it, and then looked at him. "We…sort of care about each other, remember?"

Oh yeah, he knew there was a good reason.

But before he could say anything, she just shrugged. "I'm sorry. You know, for forcing you to tell me all of that, but uhm, when you're ready to talk to me… feel free. But right now… I have to go home."

"Why?" He asked as Ariana called him again.

She smiled weakly at him, "Your parenting duties call, and trust me, they're way, way more important."

He just looked at her, and nodded his head. "Just wait… I don't want you to go all the way there alone."

"Beck, I lived in New York for like five years, I'm pretty sure I can handle getting around Los Angeles on my own… I'll just see you later, alright?" She leaned in for a moment, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek and then turned and walked away, waving as she did.

"Where did Jade go?" Tori asked, once Beck walked over there. He looked after her and then turned to his friends and daughter.

"She went home." He said simply and then bent down to Ariana's level.

"Did she make you mad?" She innocently asked him and he shook his head.

"No… she just made me think."

"Think?"

"Realize things."

"What's that mean?"

He laughed, "It means that daddy's going to be okay."

"Really?" Tori asked, "Because about five minutes ago, it didn't seem that way with all the yelling… and the kissing, what the hell was up with that?"

"She wanted to try something I guess." Beck shrugged, "And whatever it was, it worked."

"Wow, man. I guess she got to you," Andre mused.

Beck sighed, "That she did."

And all Tori had was a knowing smile on her face.

/

**July 4, 2005**

**Dear mama & daddy,**

**I had such an amazing time with Beck today. He took me to see the fireworks. Remember when i was younger and I'd always want to see them? Well, he took me today to the beach (also my favorite place to be) and then we got a blanket and lay down and watched them. **

**They're so amazing. I mean it's just color exploding in the sky, but it's so worth it to go and see. Even if they are really loud. I especially like the one's that go faster when it's getting closer to the end of the show. **

**Oh, and guess what! Well, you can't really since you're there and I'm here writing this to you, but I wanted to tell you something really exciting. Ready for it? **

**Beck asked me to be his girlfriend! Yeah... it was so nice and sweet and the whole time he just made me feel special. It was the most amazing feeling and I loved it. So, so much.**

**But really, I think I'm falling for him... or maybe i already did. I'm not sure, but what I am sure of is I never, ever, _ever_ wanna lose him. He's too special and he'd be near impossible to let go of.**

**Like the teddy bear you guys bought for me when i was born. I never let go of it either. But I'm not comparing him to a teddy bear if that's what you think. Really, I'm not. I just wish... never mind. It doesn't matter what I wish for. Someday he'll know. He'll know my secret. **

**And honestly, I trust him. But first, I want to focus on our relationship, since it's new and all.**

**I don't want to mess this up.**

**Anyway, I love you & miss you! Mwuah! **

**Courtney**

_It's kinda short, but here you go. Hope you enjoyed it! Xoxo._


End file.
